Psychedelic drugs could stop violent men from from beating up their wives or girlfriends, researchers have claimed in a sensational study.

The hardcore drugs made famous during the 1960s could bring the "peace and love" attitude of the hippy era into the internet age, according to the research.

A team followed the lives of 302 drug-addicted prisoners after their release and found the ex-inmates who took drugs including LSD and magic mushrooms were less likely to be arrested for domestic violence than their sober compatriots.

Some 42% of the prisoners who did not take psychedelics ended up being arrested for battering their partners within just six years, compared to 27% of people who took acid, mushrooms or even ecstacy.

Prof. Zach Walsh, co-director of the University of British Columbia's Okanagan's Centre for the Advancement of Psychological Science and Law, said that trippy drugs could one day be used in medical treatments.

"This study, in stark contrast to prevailing attitudes that views these drugs as harmful, speaks to the public health potential of psychedelic medicine," he said.

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"The experiences of unity, positivity, and transcendence that characterize the psychedelic experience may be particularly beneficial to groups that are frequently marginalized and isolated, such as the incarcerated men who participated in this study," he said.